The Piscataqua Pioneers are descendants of the Piscataqua River basin’s original settlers. Families who moved to and helped develop any of the towns from Kennebunk to Dover Point and the Massachusetts border qualify. Across the United States, the Pioneers now number more than 2,000.
A major genealogical resource in Special Collections is the Lamson Library of the Piscataqua Pioneers, a collection of over 1,200 volumes primarily related to the history of New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts including many biographies and genealogies of specific families.
January 6th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
I am descended from Samuel Rymes and Mary Wentworth of Portsmouth. I am looking for any information on the two families, and also I would like to join the Piscataqua Pioneers.
Thank you,
James T. Rymes
January 16th, 2009 at 10:11 am
Hello James.
I have not found anything regarding the Rymes family, but there is a three volume set of the Wentworth Genealogy here in our library, which you can peruse more easily online at http://www.archive.org. This is a national collection of digitized books. Just enter “Wentworth Genealogy” in the search box at the top of the page and you will get immediate results.
To join the Piscataqua Pioneers you should contact Bill Drew at PappouDrew@aol.com.
Roland Goodbody Manuscripts Curator
February 10th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
While researching my family tree on my mother’s side (surname Berry), I ran across an interesting notation about one of my Ancestors (William Berry, 1610-1654):
“William Berry is listed as one of the original English colonists of this area of New England. See “Piscataqua Pioneers” page 90 for bio information. Probably came from Devon as many of Mason’s colonists did. The Berry family lived first at Little Harbour, then were the first colonists to settle what on the neck of land on the south side of the Little River at Sandy Beach (now Rye).”
Being in Austraila, the “Piscataqua Pioneers” is a difficult title to come by. Would you have this publication in your collection?
Cheers Bill
February 11th, 2009 at 11:36 am
The reference to information about William Berry on p.90 is from The Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire by Noyes, Libby and Davis. The book is part of a collection of genealogical materials owned by the Piscataqua Pioneers organization whose library we maintain.
Roland Goodbody Manuscripts Curator